The present invention relates to an analyzer that operates within a vacuum chamber and detects the magnetic moment of individual charged particles.
The Stern Gerlach method is known as a technique to resolve the spin of a neutron (New Physics Series “Spin and Polarization” p 57 published by Baifukan in October 1994). FIGS. 1A and 1B show the principle of the technique. First, as in FIG. 1A, a space is assumed where a magnetic field with large vertical component is applied to the orbit of a neutron 104 and the magnetic strength of the field has a gradient in the vertical direction. The magnetic field is applied by a pair of magnetic poles disposed perpendicular to the traveling direction of the neutron 104. One of the magnetic poles has a concave surface with respect to the orbit of the neutron, and the other magnetic pole has a convex surface against the convex plane. The magnetic field with gradient described above is formed when a magnetic field generated from the convex magnetic pole reaches the concave surface. Here, density of the magnetic field lines is higher at the upper region as seen from the charged particle orbit. When neutrons each having opposite-directed magnetic moment, namely parallel or unparallel to the direction of the magnetic gradient are radiated as shown in FIG. 1B, each neutron receives upward or downward force and thereby the orbit changes to allows the magnetic moments to be resolved. Even if the force from magnetic gradient is very small, since no other forces act on the neutrons resolution of the magnetic moment due to orbit change is enabled. Furthermore, if magnetic moment of the neutron has a horizontal component, that component precesses around the magnetic field direction as an axis of rotation and therefore is not kept constant and also will not receive the force caused by magnetic gradient. Several patents on the detection of magnetic moment using this method have been disclosed (for example, JP-A 2001-099815 and JP-A 1995-174831).
Since the separation of neutron orbits due to the effect described above is very small, actually a method of using the difference in convergence action due to the direction of magnetic moment is developed by means of the Rabi method in which the these two methods are combined (New Physics Series 27 “Spin and polarization” p 62 published by Baifukan in October 1994).